In first looking at this scenario I was worried that this would be one to last a month or more, but then I looked at the SSR's. This looks long 199 turns, but 40% of them are unplayed due to a sandstorm. Also there are night turns that restrict the units as well. Beyond this it looked interesting as the Aussies need to capture and destroy all the Italian units, but the Italians just need to kill 6 Aussie steps. I thought that this was a bit low, but I was to realize how low it is as the game played out.

The Italian setup was grouped around the entrenchments with some units on the edge of the oasis just to the east of the entrenchments. These units would look to protect the backside of the Italian fort from the Aussie's that setup to the north. The goal was to keep all the Italian units together to maximize their firepower. The Aussies setup to the northeast and southeast corner of the map. The southwest group has a long march to get to the Italian fort while the northern units should be able to engage to picket units near the oasis.

Well, as the Aussies get close the Italian fire opened up, initially with some disruption results, but then the 81mm Mortars got into the action. This killed two Aussie INF steps within two turns. Italian direct fire eliminated a third step. This gave the Italians a big boost and forced the Aussies for step up their attack, but this resulted in 3 more step losses due to OP fire and a Italian assault. Six steps lost by the Aussies, game over after 7 turns.